HANNOVER , Germany -- Germany maintained the pressure on the Czech Republic in the race for top spot in Group D with a comfortable 4-0 win against Cyprus in Hannover .

Lukas Podolski celebrates his goal as Germany cruised to a 4-0 victory over Cyprus .

Both sides have already qualified for EURO 2008 but Germany showed no sign of letting up as Bayern Munich pair Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski struck either side of half-time to build on Clemens Fritz 's second-minute opener .

Thomas Hitzlsperger added the fourth in the 82nd minute as Germany claimed their eighth win in the group to move level with the Czech Republic on 26 points .

Germany were quick out of the blocks and celebrated their first goal after less than 120 seconds . Podolski 's determination paid off and he pulled the ball back from the goalline for Fritz to score with a far-post header .

Klose added the second on 20 minutes , accepting a pass from the selfless Fritz in a central position and firing in from eight meters out .

Podolski was Germany 's main threat , and he finally got the goal an excellent performance warranted when he turned in Klose 's low cross from the right eight minutes into the second half .

The impressive Podolski turned provider for the final goal eight minutes from time , making a determined run to the goalline before squaring for Hitzlsperger , whose simple tap-in completed the scoring .

Meanwhile , Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky was among the goals for the Czech Republic as they beat neighbors Slovakia 3-1 in Prague to remain top of the group by virtue of their head-to-head with Germany .

Germany conclude their qualifying campaign at home to Wales on Wednesday while the Czech Republic travel to Cyprus .

Meanwhile , the Netherlands secured their place in the finals with a narrow 1-0 win over Luxembourg in Group G.

Danny Koevermans scored the only goal for the Dutch two minutes before half time to seal their place in the finals alongside Romania -- who remain top of the group having already qualified , despite losing 1-0 to Bulgaria in Sofia .

Spain beat Sweden 3-0 with goals by Joan Capdevila , Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos , while Northern Ireland maintained their slim chance of catching Sweden by beating Denmark 2-1 .

David Healy scored the winning goal to set a European Championship qualifying record of 13 goals , overtaking Davor Suker 's 12-goal mark .

Northern Ireland must now beat already-qualified Spain in Las Palmas on Wednesday and hope that Latvia can win in Sweden on the same night , if they are to reach the finals . E-mail to a friend

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Germany beat Cyprus 4-0 in Hannover as they keep pressure on the Czechs

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Lukas Podolski scores and produces a superb performance for the Germans

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The Czech Republic remain top of the group after defeating Slovakia 3-1